an advertising insert by mediaplanet conferencing &

1

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

AN ADVERTISING INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

CONFERENCING & EVENTSCONFERENCING & EVENTS7 APRIL 2009

Distributed by The Guardian on behalf of Mediaplanet who take

sole responsibility for its contents

Igniting cooperate development and sparking social interaction

AN ADVERTISING INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET2

CONFERENCING & EVENTS

CONTENTS

Cutting carbon 4

Scotland 5

Hotel industry 6

Unique venues 8-9

Design 10

Technology 12

ROI 14

Trends 15

CONFERENCING & EVENTSA TITLE FROM MEDIAPLANET

Project Manager: Andrew Michael

Editor: Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Editorial Manager:

Katherine Woodley

Design: Michael Kimberley

Prepress: Jez MacBean

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Introduction

Communicating through the economic storm

There was a time when large meetings and other cor-porate events were among the first casualties of eco-

nomic downturn. Those organisa-tions that ran conferences purely as an annual habit, found they were hard-pressed to justify the cost, so cancelling or drastically downsizing such events offered a quick and easy saving.

Nowadays the landscape has changed significantly and com-panies are using meetings as a primary medium to communicate change and to assist in marketing their way through the recession.

Face-to-face events are highly successful in engaging with cu-stomers and other stakeholders because they have the unique abi-lity to reach all five senses and literally bring the brand to life. And the advent of virtual confe-rencing and online communities has made it possible to extend both the reach and the lifespan of the core event.

While live marketing has histo-rically been directed at external audiences, there’s now a growing focus on the pivotal contribution made by a company’s internal workforce as well.

The difference between winning and losing business may hinge on having the best brand advocates at the front line, and live communi-cation plays a vital role in keeping

those people trained, informed and enthused.

No longer the dreary stream of lectures and presentations deli-vered to near-comatose audiences, the best conferences are structured to inspire and educate their dele-gates. Furthermore, by generating

multi-directional communication, the hosts of the meeting can now glean as much valuable intelli-gence from their delegates as from ‘expert’ speakers.

There are well-documented ex-amples of such ‘coal-face’ intelli-gence identifying improved ways of working or reducing unneces-sary processes.

Resultant changes enable orga-nisations to cut costs, and drive

savings straight to the bottom line. Carefully-planned conferences can, and do produce a measurable return on investment.

The ability to evaluate ROI is of critical importance to purchasers of marketing services and helps to explain the buoyancy of corpo-rate events in one of the toughest trading years on record. Surveys conducted amongst corporate buyers show increasing levels of confidence in the ability of events to deliver ROI, particularly com-pared against other marketing disciplines.

Nevertheless, in 2009 purchasers are looking to achieve maximum leverage from their meetings spend. In recent re-search conducted by events indus-try association Eventia, professio-nal event organisers cited value as one of the key deciding factors in event planning.

Eventia assists event purchasers in making smart buying decisions - by giving unbiased advice on venue and supplier selection, and

by providing directories of well-established service providers offe-ring excellent credentials.

It’s no surprise that the top-per-forming companies are continuing to choose live events to inform, educate and motivate their au-diences.

But the big difference in 2009 is that purchasers are confident, and can demonstrate, that their finan-cial outlay is money well-spent.

BY IZANIA DOWNIE, CEO, EVENTIA

Izania Downie

3






“Start by giving people information about emissions from a flight”

Go green on

your next

conference tripThe gloomy economic news has bumped the environment off the front page, but still remains a de-eply important issue for the confe-rencing and events industry.

Fortunately, being green do-vetails with being frugal. The Car-bon Trust estimates that if the UK hotel and restaurant in-dustry cut energy emissions by 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, it would save £200 million in energy costs in the pro-cess.

Meanwhile, re-mote conferencing technology can cut down on international air travel for face-to-face meetings, slimming the organisation's green-house emissions and fattening the bottom line at the same time.

Hugo Kimber, chief executive of the Carbon Consultancy, says con-ference organisers can minimise

the environmental impact of an event, by influencing the behavi-our of delegates.

“Start by giving people informa-tion about emissions from a flight and, if it‘s short haul, the alter-natives by rail and other forms of

transport,” Kim-ber says.

“It‘s not just about offsetting, which is essen-tially a tax on conscience where people simply pay money and then forget about the problem.”

Recently the organisers of the IMEX conference in Germany – the main global show for the events industry - booked train tickets rather than flights for the hosted buyers travelling from within the country.

On the supply side, Aileen Reu-ter, the director of marketing at events management company the

Grass Roots Group and the board member looking after corporate social responsibility at industry body Eventia, says clients should consider finding a supplier with the BS8901 standard, but not rely on it since it‘s currently self-assessed.

“I think it‘s a great standard, but it needs some work on it,” Reu-ter says. “I think over time, if you are going in to it, you‘ll want to be audited as that will give it more clout.”

The Carbon Consultancy‘s Kim-ber adds that the Green Globe Index is a good resource for finding an

environmentally friendly venue. To guard against the ever-present risk of ‘green wash' – where orga-nisations make unsubstantiated claims about their environmen-tal credentials – Reuter says cli-ents should ask questions about a supplier's environmental activities and the measurable results.

This could include anything from water usage and waste ma-nagement to using cornstarch name badges rather than plastic ones. She adds that agencies have a responsibility to push a green agenda to clients.

Photo: istockphoto

Cutting carbon

Short flights should be avoided at all costs. Alternatives are available.

5




Home of good whiskey, great castles and conferences?

Scotland punches above its weight when it comes to conferences and

events. Lindsay Brown, UK mar-

keting manager at Visit Scotland, says the coun-try attracts one in four of every UK association con-ferences and also attracts its fair share of internatio-nal events.

It's also host to many non-corporate events - Homecoming Scotland has 300 events planned for 2009, including the huge ancestry event The Ga-thering, which will pull together the vast Scottish Diaspora with 30,000 clan members and chiefs from around the world.

Scotland's attractions are obvious – where else would you find a modern confe-rence facility inside a me-dieval castle, surrounded by stunning scenery and

an immaculate golf course, with a nearby whisky di-stillery?

Brown notes that some events hook in with other events – the MediaGuar-dian Edinburgh Television Festival ties in with the famous arts festival in Au-gust each year.

But Scotland also has a few surprises in store. “There's the whole idea of meeting rooms with a view – for example, the Edinburgh Zoo board room overlooking the chimps,” Brown says.

“Or Edinburgh's in-door climbing wall near the airport built into an old quarry where you can have gala dinners or cor-porate team building – it's all about getting the most out of the venues and peo-ple are wanting something unique.”

Brown acknowledges that some venues are

more suitable for one-day events and the local mar-ket but others can cater for lengthier conferences, in-cluding the five-day inter-national schedule.

Brown says Scotland is a popular destination for in-ternational events because the attendees like to extend their stay and explore some of the country as well. She is keen to encourage more

business travellers from England and Wales to take this option as well.

There are regional flights to the main airports of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Prest-wick, Aberdeen and Inver-ness.

There are also rail tracks up both the east and west coast of the UK, and some trains carry free wifi or of-fer sleeper cars.

From overseas, direct flights come into the key airports, while there are a huge number with just one short stop in England be-fore continuing on to Scot-land.

To travel from the towns out to the event centres, there are regional rail and bus services, while many venues run shuttle buses for groups.

Country attracts one-in-four of all UK conferences

Scotland

Photo: istockphoto



Industry stays strongThe hotel industry is holding its own in

the conferencing and events industry, despite fierce competition from a host of other venues.

A hotel offers the best value in many cases, particularly when accommodation is required. However, in the current economic climate, it's often the smaller or less top-end hotels that are most in demand.

Des McLaughlin, managing director of Grass Roots HBI, says clients are looking for in-depth management information.

“They're looking for instance at how many meetings individuals and departments book and how much they spend with individual ho-tel groups in the UK, throughout Europe and worldwide,” McLaughlin says.

“This leads to a trend for consolidation of ve-nue space and accommodation in the search for best value which is where hotels often offer the best choice.”

Grass Roots estimates that venue rates fell by up to 10 per cent in the first few weeks of the year and predicts reductions of up to 30 per cent before the end of 2009.

“At present we are seeing delegate rates fal-ling, particularly at the top end of the market, as brands do not want to be visibly spending money and are moving away from five-star big name hotels, even if the rate is comparable to training centres and four-star properties,” McLaughlin says.

“Those hotels that remain in business over the next year or two will be those concentrating on offering value for money, flexible working terms and have solid financial backing. Some-thing we pay close attention to.

Emma Benney, group marketing manager for Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, says smaller, bou-tique hotels such as her own offer a good fit for clients planning small to mid-size events.

“You get a more intimate service with a de-dicated events coordinator looking after you throughout,” Benney says.

“Having a dedicated events person is very important from booking to time in there on the day – having that face when you need some-thing rather than having to find someone to deal with it.”

Another factor is coverage around the UK, particularly useful for touring and roadshow events. Malmaison has a pre-sence in the large cities, while Hotel du Vin is more in cathe-dral towns, but Benney points out a lot of large hotel chains don‘t have a presence outside the main cities.

“We'll probably have a Malmaison in every city you need to be in,” she says. “In Henley

you‘ll not find a Hilton or a Marriott but you will find a Hotel du Vin so it‘s taking business out to areas that don't see a lot of national busi-ness and is good for away-days and team buil-ding.” Hotels vary in style as well as price and size – some are traditional, others are modern

or arty. Unlike‚ blank canvas venues, the lay-out and décor of the rooms is usually set, with only minimal customi-sation possible.

On the other hand, all equipment - such as plasma screens and sound systems and wireless Internet - is usually provided. Hotels may be an obvious choice but they shouldn't be overlooked just

for the sake of being different – sometimes it can be just the ticket.

“You get a more intimate service with a dedicated events coordinator”

Smaller or less top-end hotels are more in demand than ever before

Hotel industry

Photo: istockphoto

7






Different venues with unique selling point a big hit Some of the best events have taken place in rat-her unorthodox locations, says Rob Allen, chief executive of event management agency, TRO Group.

“We‘ve held events in car parks, fast food re-staurants and the spa area of a hotel – that last one was for a conference on female buyers to help them get in the mindset,” he says.

Your choice of venue depends on a range of factors, some purely practical, others to do with the aims and themes of your event.

Some have unique selling points, such as Sheepdrove, an eco-conference centre set amid 2,500 acres of a working organic farm in Lam-bourn, near Hungerford in Berkshire.

Other venues might talk about environmental sustainability but few can match Sheepdrove, which boasts rammed-earth buildings with na-tural cooling and heating properties, bore water with a complete natural water recycling system involving reed beds and a lake, and organic meat and vegetables grown on the farm.

Admittedly the main way to get there is by car – it‘s 15 minutes from the M4 and one hour from London - and there is ample car parking facilities on site.

Russell Downing, Sheepdrove‘s centre ma-nager, says: “In this climate people tend to put their sustainability and corporate social respon-sibility goals on the backburner and it's moving down the list, but in my view it shouldn't even be on the list, it should just be a given.”

The centre holds up to 180 people indoors, but in summer the events are often held out in the physic garden and there‘s also a field dedicated to team building events and optional 40-mi-

nute farm tours. Sheepdrove doesn‘t yet offer accommodation but Downing says many clients still hold multi-day events, taking advantage of local B&Bs.

The Barbican Centre in London is another unique venue, with its special heritage in the arts. Anthony Hyde, head of corporate sales, Barbican and president elect, MPI UK, says the Barbican has a strong track record with events.

“We're not an arts centre that decided to

“When it comes to choosing a venue, the obvious points are size, location, price and facilities”

Unique venues

The venue and staging are core ele-ments of your communication and key factors in conveying your message suc-cessfully.

Taking an empty hall and creating a venue is an expensive and inefficient way to achieve this, so a true consul-tancy should understand your needs and create opportunities to reduce costs.

For instance, don’t hire a hall to cre-ate a theatre style presentation – hire a theatre or perhaps a cinema utilising

the built in audio visual, lighting, sta-ging and acoustics.

Identifying and utilising existing structures, hardware and facilities is the easiest way to save money and maintain the right image.

one of the UK’s most successful venue-findersadvises Nigel Cooper, Chairman of, Zibrant,

Choose a venue fit for purpose

The NEC Birmingham. Photo: www.necgroup.co.uk

9




make a bit of money by doing this as an add-on,” Hyde says.

“We were always designed as both an arts and corporate events centre.”

As well as excellent public transport links and proximity to the Barbican's schedule of art, music and theatre events, holding an event at the Barbican buys clients access to the same au-diovisual and stage management experts that work on the arts events. Hyde says some clients even build full stage sets, just like a theatre pro-duction would.

Dale Parmenter, group managing director of DRP, says the larger the event, the more the op-tions start to narrow. “When you get to large events with maybe 3,000 delegates the ve-nues in the UK get more and more limited so you wind up more or less by default in places like the NEC Birmingham, which is a fantastic blank canvas,” Parmenter says.

“It‘s basically a tin box that you can do what you like, although there are cost implications.”

With venues such as these, you need to pro-vide everything yourself – not only audiovi-sual equipment and Internet but often walls and carpets as well.

Chris Elmitt, managing director at facili-tation company Crystal Interactive, says the layout of the venue is important. He usually advises larger events to splinter off into small break-up sessions and then come together to share ideas at the end, using tablet PCs to coll-ect feedback.

“You might have an audience of 200 but it lets them feel they are contributing to the ses-sion,” Elmitt says. “I usually recommend it's anonymous while you're brainstorming the problems a company is facing but you have the option to give credit when you‘re coming up with solutions.” In order for this to work, the venue needs to have break-out areas and good computer networks.

John Davies, managing director of events lo-gistics and organisational business TFI Group, cautions that it's important to choose a venue that is secure – both in terms of its health and safety procedures, and its financial stability.

When it comes to choosing a venue, the ob-vious points are size, location, price and facili-ties. But thinking a bit more laterally about the space and what you want to do with it can help transform a good event into a great one.

Sheepdrove conference centre. INSERT: Spacious

function rooms for all functions.

Unique venues



Not all about content!

In the conferences and events industry, there can be no substance without style - design

and content are both im-portant but they are also intrinsically linked.

Rob Allen, chief execu-tive of experiential and events management agency TRO Group, says event planning starts from iden-tifying the key objectives, moving out to content and de-sign.

He believes that design – e v e r y t h i n g from the choice of venue to the stationery - plays just as important role as the content.

“You can have the same con-tent delivered differently and have completely different out-comes,” Allen says. “In the current environment if your message is that times are tough, maybe you deli-berately wouldn‘t have an all-singing, all-dancing but would pick a venue that‘s not as opulent.”

Clients don‘t need to

start out knowing all the answers – and sometimes it‘s better if they don‘t. Dale Parmenter, managing director of DRP Group, says a good supplier will know how to figure out the organisation's needs and objectives.

“The client should allow the supplier to ask a lot of questions of them and not be afraid of that,” Par-

menter says. “What the sup-plier should be doing is getting under the skin of the client and un-de r s t a nd i ng what issues are within the organisat ion as this gives the design team a fan-tastic basis to build on.” This includes let-ting the sup-

plier understand the flaws in the business so the event can actually help solve exi-sting problems.

In tough economic times, value for money is never far from clients' minds and this too can be addressed in the design and content.

Chris Elmitt, managing director of facilitation company Crystal Interac-tive, says it‘s possible to strengthen the impact of a conference through tech-nology.

If you equip delegates with tablet computers, it‘s possible to get ideas, feed-back and questions from the audience, or from smal-ler break-out group sessi-ons, throughout the day.

His company has also pu-blished a pamphlet called Event 24, which is a blue-print for how to take a two-

day conference and turn it into a one-day event. Even with a shorter event, Elmitt advises clients to schedule in some networking time.

“That's the magic of con-ference for most people – it's not listening to the key note presentation and thinking‚ haven't we got a nice strategy, its‚ I'm really pleased to meet all these great people who I work with'.”

John Davies, marketing director at events logistics and organisation business TFI Group, says security

and compliance are impor-tant issues that need to be factored in from the early planning stages.

This includes everything from assessment of the health and safety risks of a venue to compliance with the Data Protection Act and appropriate insurance co-ver.

“I'm finding that clients are putting it first on the list of things they want to know – are they talking with a secure supplier with a secure supply chain?” Davies says.“If you

equip delegates with tablet computers, it's possible to get ideas, feedback and questions”

Everything plays an important role during a conference

Design

Photo: istockphoto

This bold and visionary company is a leading and fully integrated communication and presenta-tion organisation, with over 30 years experience of delivering global creative communication solutions.

The drpgroup assists high profile clients such as Sainsbury’s, Thomas Cook, Monster, National Express and Lloyds TSB to communicate effectively with their internal and external audiences through live

events, interactive media, video and people development solutions.

Everything is produced in-house by a large team of specialists ope-rating from its unique and exten-sive production studio complexes in the Midlands and Central London, delivering over 200 live events every year.

Promotional feature

Anything’s possible with DRP

11






Modern technology means that events and conferences can happen anywhere and not just face-to-face.

Remote conferencing technology can expand the reach of a central confe-rence to a wider audience, but it can also replace the face-to-face event entirely.

At its most simple, pre-sentations can be streamed on the web, allowing peo-ple to follow along on their desktop computers at home

or work, or on their Black-berries or iPhones.

If you combine it with a telephone conference call – supporting anything from three to a thousand odd callers – you then get the chance for interaction and collaboration. There have also been some early at-tempts to hold conferences in virtual worlds such as Second Life.

At the top end, sits‚ Te-lepresence – an industry term for high-end remote video conferencing that takes place in a specially built room.

Steve Ray, head of unified communications marketing at BT, says this can replace a face-to-face meeting.

The room has very large, high-definition, wrap-around screens and Ray says there is no problem with lip-synchs. “The ex-perience is immersive – the Telepresence environment is almost lifelike so you can imagine you're sitting across the desk talking to the person but they could be on the other side of the world,” Ray says.

“When you walk in the room, you almost want to shake the hands of the peo-ple.”

Andy Brocklehurst, business transformation manager for Cisco Unified Communications, says the technology provides value for money because it co-sts less than a large global event but is also more en-vironmentally sustainable. “We can measure the car-bon reduction from redu-cing car travel and air tra-vel,” he says.

Terence Brake, author of Where in the World is my Team? says techno-logy ranging from email through to high-end video conferencing can allow‚

Stay-at-work conferences made easywith gadgets

Wider audience easily available, but face-to-face could be lost

virtual teams' to collabo-rate on projects.

However, he says that technology can't com-pletely replace the need for face-to-face contact.

“I always recommend that virtual teams try to meet face-to-face in the early stages of a project.

“Face-to-face [contact] involving a mix of task and social activities helps create the bonds and sense of mutual responsibility that helps power collabora-tion over distances,” Brake says.

If this is not possible, Brake advises, that the

early virtual meetings should allow time for ‘get-ting to know you’.

He predicts that Face-book-style social networ-king technologies will be-come more integrated into businesses to allow more effective virtual team buil-ding and collaboration.

“I always recommend that virtual teams try to meet face-toface in the early stages of a project”

Technology

Photo: istockphoto

BT Conferencing is a leading global

provider of audio, video and web

conferencing and collaboration services.

BT Conferencing specialises in the

delivery of reliable, robust and innovative

solutions and product hardware to some

of the largest companies in the world.

Using conferencing services enables you,

your colleagues, customers and suppliers

the flexibility to work together wherever

you are.

It is suitable for all types of meetings and

events and can be anything from a simple

three-way phone call to a large event

streamlined live to people watching

a conference via a PC.

As businesses must now juggle to increase

productivity, be more environmentally

aware and improving the work-life

balance of its employees, conferencing

and collaboration services are becoming

an increasingly important business tool.

For more information on BT Conferen-

cing, please go to: www.bt.com/conferen-

cing or call Freefone 0800 61 62 62

Promotional feature

Conferencing services for you

13




In the current economic downturn, it is more important than ever for companies to save mo-ney wherever possible and seek out solutions that can help them cut costs and improve pro-ductivity.

This is where conferencing services can help.

Conferencing technologies have made huge

leaps in recent years. Long gone are the times

when it was considered a poor substitute for face-

to-face meetings. Technological advances mean

that the quality and take-up of conferencing has

increased exponentially.

With audio conferencing facilities, colleagues

can conduct telephone meetings with their coun-

terparts in the next building or, just as easily, on

the other side of the world. This can be especially

effective when integrated with web conferen-

cing: the combination of the two can enable

participants to share, update documents, present

and discuss points instantly – something which

is often difficult in a face-to-face meeting.

In addition to this, video conferencing offers

another meeting alternative. In its inception,

the technology used in video conferencing pro-

duced an artificial meeting situation but now

high definition (HD) displays built into meeting

room furniture present a ‘virtual meeting envi-

ronment’. The telepresence experience allows

you to have meetings with people across con-

Audio conferencing: The future of eventstinents, whilst feeling like they are in the same

room.

The benefits of using conferencing in your busi-

ness can be immense. Firstly there are the obvi-

ous cost savings. Instead of participants travel-

ling to a single location, global meetings can be

held in each local office. This reduces the cost of

travel, accommodation and, importantly, emplo-

yees’ time. At BT, for example, use of conferen-

cing services saves time worth more than £100

million a year. Travel costs have also been cut by

around £135 million a year. Each BT Conferen-

cing meeting saves BT at least £298 in associated

travel costs and time.

The use of conferencing can benefit employees as

well as the bottom line: decreased travelling time

can improve work-life balance and employee pro-

ductivity. More and more employees are turning

to flexible working patterns to successfully juggle

work and family life - implementing conferen-

cing services to help with remote working can

make this happen seamlessly. These benefits can

be a huge bonus and may help to attract talented

workers to your company.

Another significant advantage of using conferen-

cing facilities, rather than travelling to meetings,

is the benefit to the environment. All modern

businesses need to be environmentally conscious

and if their employees have less need to travel to

meetings, then CO2 emissions are cut dramati-

cally. By using conferencing services itself, BT

has reduced the amount of CO2 emissions by

almost 100,000 tonnes a year, almost one tonne

per employee per year. Of our customers, a large

retailer, has saved more than £14m and 2,000

tonnes of CO2, by using audio conferencing ser-

vices over the course of a year.

In the past, the perception of conferencing tech-

nology has been that it is difficult to master but

this is no longer the case. Employers don’t have

to invest large amounts of money on training

their staff. However, any training and support

from providers like BT Conferencing, is always

available as and when you need it.

Any company, large or small, can benefit

from conferencing technologies and services.

Whether using it to effectively communicate or

collaborate with other colleagues or cli-

ents, the savings in money, time and the

benefit to the environment are now too big

to ignore.

For more information, please email: [email protected]


CONFERENCING & EVENTS ROI

Expendable luxury or indispensable revenue driver?Should we think of a live event in terms of a revenue driver or as a cost to an or-ganisation?

Until we answer this que-stion we will never really understand or appreciate

the true value of any type of event and the investment it represents.

It is no wonder that in difficult economic times many organisations see an opportunity to save money

by reducing live event bud-gets.

This thinking can be driven by a lack of appre-ciation of the true effec-tiveness and return on in-vestment that an event can

bring, along with a lack of understanding that tangi-ble, measurable results can be gained from any event.

The event industry needs to up its game in terms of educating organisations and creating a shift in their mindset.

Clients should be con-vinced that effective and engaging events will actu-ally generate income and grow revenue rather than being seen as an expenda-ble luxury.

Compared with other media, a live event is the only way to really create a highly effective platform that fosters an environment for learning, interaction, recognition and emotional engagement.

Whether it is an external or internal communication there is a growing wealth of data, which supports the effectiveness of events as a very cost efficient way of successfully delivering a message.

It can be argued that in the current trading condi-tions investment in events, particularly those for in-ternal purposes, should be increased not decreased.

All too often we see event evaluations based on the quality of the venue and the food served, and while

these are important they should be secondary to the real event objectives.

These objectives pro-vide tangible results that are delivered in line with a business strategy, provi-ding a real financial worth

for the organisation. There has to be a real commit-ment by the client and the event producer to justify the cost to the organisation and calculate the return on investment.

This can only be achie-ved through greater front end planning that sets a solid foundation with an outcome that ensures long term effectiveness.

“Clients should be convinced that effective and engaging events will actually generate income and growth revenues”

15




Nigel Cooper, Managing Director of the events and communica-tions division of P&MM, is wi-dely regarded as the leading ex-pert commentator on the events and conferences market.

Founding Chairman of Eventia, Nigel has, for the last two years, been voted top of the Conference & Incentive Travel magazine Po-

wer 50 by his industry peers.Looking at the next two years,

Nigel believes that events will have a vital role in the way for-ward.

In 2009, companies are cutting costs to address sales shortfalls but, for 2010 and beyond, they must address their sales and mar-keting strategies to deliver effec-tive returns.

“The requirement to fight for business and to motivate sales teams is stronger than ever, so face-to-face communications and self-financing incentive reward programmes are paramount. Events and meetings must com-municate and motivate. The need to motivate and communicate is greater than ever. In short, many believe that in a recession you “sell or die.” The key question is how to run events and meetings balancing tangible benefits and best value.”

“Some companies have found their meetings and incentives are increasingly under a political sensitivity spotlight. However, their need for effective commu-nication and sales motivation is greater than most.

Companies finding themselves in the spotlight for rewarding performance are concerned about perception; but, without sales achievement, the results would be far worse. Practically, they must ensure they have self-financing, justifiable and publishable struc-tures.

One of our key successes has been developing flexible low cost event and communication concepts that can be operated in many areas to allow clients to

achieve their aims without signi-ficant cost or publicity exposure.

“For some this is not enough and we are introducing diffe-rent rewards that still offer the motivation of exotic travel, but on an individual basis, which is less controversial and more cost effective. Of course they lose the team building aspects so this has prompted many to maintain events as a valuable part of the marketing activity, but in less glamorous destinations or ho-tels.”

“By using events and commu-nications in these ways, organi-sations are still motivating and rewarding their staff and part-ners effectively to survive and grow out of the recession.”

Focus turns to performanceIn tough economic times, all com-pany expenditure is under review and conferences and events are no exception.

So far it seems that clients are not cancelling conferences and events but they are being smarter about how they do it.

One trend is to cut down on the length of conferences, leading to an increase in the number of one-day events.

Companies are also opting in-creasingly to hold smaller local or regional events, although John Davies, marketing director at TFI Group, says sometimes this trend can be reversed because of the “economies of scale from bringing it all into one”.

Steve Ray, head of unified com-munications at BT, says remote conferencing technology is beco-ming more popular partly on cost grounds.

“Face-to-face meetings can cost several tens of thousands of pounds

in travel costs and time people are not doing their job,” Ray says. “Do-ing it remotely can deliver return on investment of 20:1 plus.”

Smart clients are keeping the environment high on the agenda. Aileen Reuter, director of marke-ting at the Grass Roots HBI and the

board member looking after corpo-rate social responsibility for indus-try body Eventia, says the saving resources makes financial as well as environmental sense.

She cites a Carbon Trust statistic that if the UK hotel and restaurant industry reduced energy emissions

by 1.4 million tonnes of carbon di-oxide, they would save £200 mil-lion in power bills.

The focus needs to be on how conferences and events can help businesses to perform better – and this is never truer than in a reces-sion.

Smarter choices can make the world of difference

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The way ahead for the industry

Nigel Cooper

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